news-detail__perex">He waited a long time for this moment. In a display case full of medals from the World and European Championships, he will now put the most valuable one, the Olympic one. And to top it off, honey! After fifth places in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021, canoeist Martin Fuksa finally reached the top also under five rings when he triumphed in the kilometer course at the Vaires-sur-Marne paddling area. Second was Brazilian Isaquias Queiroz and third was Sergej Tarnovsky from Moldova.
“Nobody wants that medal as much as I do,” said the 31-year-old Fuksa earlier. And he acted on the water. In the final, as in the morning semi-final, he gave an absolutely dominant performance. With the wind at his back, he ran towards the goal as fast as he could. “I nailed it from the start. It was a thousand meters of fear that someone would run me over. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. I rode my way, I even saved a little energy, because no one threatened me,” he commented on the course of the final. “I was already enjoying the last hundred meters. I knew I wasn’t going to let it go and I was going to win.”
He may have surprised his opponents with a rocket launch. “My best hits have always come when I’ve shot like that. I said to myself, do it this way. God sent you the best conditions you could ever dream of, so pay him back. I blew it, but there was also a reserve. After all, I’ve been training for it all my life.”
Almost 24,000 spectators saw his triumph from the stands. However, he also thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere while crossing the finish line. In honor of his victory, he raised his left hand and beat his chest. He fulfilled his long-standing mission. He is finally an Olympic champion.
He then proudly walked to the podium with the Czech flag. “It’s a great feeling. I would easily repeat it. You only experience this once in your life,” he said with a smile, already with the golden reward around his neck. “Actually, I finished canoeing with it. The dream came true. It is the most I could achieve.’
The reigning world champion mastered a very demanding program in Paris with style. After all, including the doubles with his brother Petr, he completed a total of seven races on the canal in four days! In his head, he also had to deal with the ungrateful role of the favorite on the single. “Even weeks before the Olympics, I felt that something was different. I was calm. I did not live in the village, but in a shack near the canal. I felt at home. My family came to visit me. It relieved me of stress,” he says clearly.
In addition, the golden race came on the day when brother Petr celebrates his birthday, i.e. August 9. “I knew a year in advance when the final would take place. I gave him a nice present. I hope that one day we will hang something around our necks together. Maybe we’ll focus more on doubles now, I’m done in singles,” remarked the thirty-one-year-old native of Nymburk.
Grandfather Josef and father Petr, who have been shaping him in training for a long time, kept their fingers crossed for him. “We have a great team. We will celebrate it properly. I reached my peak in my thirties, I’m really looking forward to hanging the medal around my daughter Emily’s neck as well.”